Railway-track gage, adjuster, and holder.



No. 783,370. .PATENTED EEE. 21, 1905..

l D. T. DEWALT. RAILWAY TRACK GAGE, ADJUSTEE, AND HOLDER.

APPLIUATION FILED DIIO.9.1904` Widmung y I mmmg UNITED STATES Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAY-TRACK GAGE, ADJUSTER, AND HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,370, dated February 21, 1905.

Application filed December 9, 1904. Serial No. 236,172.

To t/Z whom t may concern:

Be itknown thatLDoN T. DEWALT, acitizen of the United States, residing at Keating Summit, in the county of Potter and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway-Track Gages, Adjusters, and Holders, of which the Jfollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a railway-track gage', adjuster, and holder, the object of the invention being to provide a simple, convenient, and reliable device for use in laying railway-rails, by which the rails may he accurately adjusted into position and held while the spikes are being driven to secure the same to the ties.

WV ith this and other objects in View the invention consists of the features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a trackgage, adjuster, and holder embodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

The numeral 1 in the drawings represents the supporting beam or frame of the device which is adapted to span the distance between and rest upon the heads of the opposite rails to be secured. This beam or frame in the construction show-n consists of parallel side plates 2, connected by end plates or heads 3, and a top plate 4, the whole preferably constituting an integral structure. The end plates 3 form gaging or abutting members to bear against the inner sides of the rails, and the top plate 4, which is preferably curved or arc shaped, as shown, terminates at its ends in spaced divergent supporting-arms 5, which are designed to restupon the heads of the rails to support the device in position.

Extending transversely between the two side plates is a pivot-bolt 6, which is arranged at the center of said plates and preferably at or near the lower edges of the same. Upon this bolt is pivoted the lower end of an adjusting-lever 7, which extends upwardly a suitable distance above the beam through a slot 8 in the top plate4. To the upper end of the lever 7 is pivoted a handle 9, which is connected by a link 10 with a latch rod or bar 11, terminating at its lower end in a pawl or latch 12. The rod 11 and latch-piece 12 are mounted to slide in spaced eyes or guideloops 13 on a bracket 14, secured to the lever,

Aand surrounding the latch-rod between these eyes or loops is a coiled spring 14, which bears against the upper end of the latch-piece 12 and forces the same downwardly. The latch-piece 12 is adapted to reach across and engage the teeth of a curved rack comprising spaced plates or side pieces 15, arrangedon opposite sides of the slot 8 in the top plate 4 and connected at their ends to transverse end pieces 16, secured by screw-bolts or other suitable fastening devices 17 to the top plate 4.

The end pieces or heads 3 of the beam are slotted, as shown at 18, for the passage of rods 19'and 20, which are provided at their outer ends with hook-shaped claws 21, adapted to engage the heads of the rails to be adjusted and secured to the ties. These rods are provided with threaded inner ends 22 to respectively engage threaded sockets 23 in bars 24 and 25, whereby they may be adjusted to compensate for variations due to expansion and contraction and the transverse thickness of the rails to be adjusted and secured. Nuts 26, applied to the threaded ends of the rods, abut against the outer ends of the bars and hold the rods from turning. Each bar 24 and 25 is slotted at its inner end to straddle the lower end of the lever 7, and the bar 24 is directly pivoted to the lever 7 above the pivot-bolt 6 by a pivot pin or bolt 27, while the bar 25 is pivotally mounted upon the bolt 6, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. By this construction the movement of the lever 7 in one direction or the other will force the bar 24 and rod 29 in or out without affecting the bar 25 and its rod 20, which swings solely upon the pivot-1301156.

The rods 19 and 20 are normally supported inA inoperative position by the shoulders 28, formed by the lower end walls of the slots 18, and the outer ends of said rods are mounted below the space between the opposite sets of divergent supporting-arms 5, so that they may be swung upward between said arms to engage the heads of the rails.

IOO

In the operation of the device the supporting-arms at the opposite ends of the beam are rested upon theheads of the opposite rails and the rods 19 and 20 swung upward through the spaces or slots between said arms to lie between the same and hook over the rail-heads,

the lever 7 being swung to theleft in Fig. 2 to properly adjustthe rod 19 to span the distance between the heads of the two rails. The device will then be supported in position to adjust the rails, which operation is effected by swinging the lever 7 backward until the dog or latch-piece 12 arrives opposite a determined set of teeth on the rack-plates 15, this operation causing the rail which is engaged by the hooked end of the rod 19 to be drawn inward until yit is accurately gaged with respect to the other rail, when the inner sides of the rails will abut against the end plates or gage-pieces '3 and will be held in adjusted position by the hooked claws 21. While so held the spikes may be driven to secure the rails to the ties, the device holding the rails so firmly that movement thereof will be prevented during the driving operation, so that splitting of the ties will be avoided, and after this operation has been performed the device is removed for a subsequent adjusting and holding operation.

From the foregoing description, takenl in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and mode of operation of the invention will be understood without a further extended description.

Changes in the form, proportions, and minor details of construction may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new isn 1. A device of the character described, comprising a beam or frame having end supporting members to rest upon the heads of rails, said supporting members being provided with slots, pivoted claws adapted to swing upward through said slots to engage the rail-heads, and means for relatively adjusting said claws to adjust the rails to gaged position.

2. A device of the characterl described, comprising a beam or supporting-frame provided at each end with divergent arms to rest upon the rails, pivoted claws adapted to swing upward into the spaces between the arms to engage the rail-heads, and means for relatively adjusting the claws .to adjust the rails to gaged position.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a supporting beam or frame, an adjusting-lever, and rail-engaging claws, one of said claws being pivoted to the lever and the other coaxially with the lever. 1. A device of the character described, comprising a beam provided with supports to rest upon opposite rails, claws to engage the rails, and means for adjusting one of the claws independently of the other claw.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a beam or frame having supporting portions to rest upon opposite rails, pivoted claws to engage the rails, an adjusting-lever, and bars adjustably connected to the claws, one of said bars being pivoted to the lever and the other coaxially with the lever, substantially as described.

6. A device of the character described, comprising a beam having end supporting' portions and a central slot in the top thereof,

claws arranged below the top ofthe beam, a

lever extending through said slot in the beam and pivoted to one claw and coaxially pivoted with the other claw, a rack comprising spaced plates disposed on opposite sides of said slot and having connecting end pieces secured to the top portion of the beam, and a latch upon the lever to engage said rack, substantially as described.

7. A device of the character described, comprising a beam having a top portion provided with end supporting members, depending end walls formed with slots, pivoted claws projecting through said slots in the end walls, and a lever extending through and movable in the top portion and operatively connected to the claws, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DON T. DFNV ALT.

Vitnesses:

H. J. FEHRENBAD, C. A. PRINCE. 

